How I made my First $5,000 Month as a Blogger

In 2020, I asked myself “Wow, how does someone make money as a blogger?”

I’m literally sweating while writing this blog post. I feel like talking about money is considered taboo sometimes, but how would be know what is possible if we never talked about our experiences.

Last year, I was working full time as Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse while blogging and getting on instagram any chance I got off the clock. My husband and I planned to move to Germany and I wanted to find a way to make an income abroad. I started my blog with the ultimate goal of making a full time income as a travel blogger. You know things never really go as planned. I ended up falling in love with social media strategy and now, I’m not only a travel blogger. I blog about travel, lifestyle and digital marketing.

Suggested Article: Best of 2020: Year End Review

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When I started, I didn’t fully understand how much work blogging, influencing, content creating took. I’ve become a writer, photo editor, photographer, video editor, agent, makeup artist, scheduler, graphic designer, and the list goes on. I am not saying this to discourage you, but rather to let you know to buckle your seat belt. My 16 month journey to $5,000 has been a wild ride, but I would not trade this job for anything.

In May 2021, I hit my first $5K month as a blogger and I am going to break down exactly how I did it along with strategies to help YOU increase your online income too!

Blog Income Report for May 2021

Affiliate: $180.70

An affiliate is a link that you share and you can earn income. I would suggest to only use affiliate links to products and services that you have used and enjoy. When building an online community you want your community to trust you. Check out Secret Affiliate for more affiliate info.

Reward Style: $118.70

If you’ve ever heard someone say Liketoknow.it then they are referring to Reward Style. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be a fashionista. You can link home, gadgets, books, etc. This affiliate gives you are small portion, but every penny adds up.

Flodesk: $57

Flodesk is an email marketing platform. Once I started to work on growing my email list, my income increased drastically. When I was starting out, I would tell people to subscribe to my list, but I honestly did not understand what that truly meant. Having an email list, allows you to talk to directly to your blog readers and you can include links and helpful information within your newsletters/emails.

Rakuten: $6

Every dollar counts right? This is a rebate platform which allows you to earn money back on your purchases from in-store cash back to travel & vacations.

Products: $700

Hashtag Booklet & Instagram Story Vault are digital products that I sold in May. I was hesitant to create a digital products, but I am so glad I did. Not only because it gives me passive income, but also because I was able to create two resources with tons of information that are literally changing businesses! 

Sponsored Content: $120

Pitching brands takes time, consistency and lots of no’s. As a social media manager, who’s read multiple pitches and pitched many companies myself, I have learned a thing or two about pitching. I created 7 Pitch Templates for $7 to help you land those podcasts, brand collaborations, hotel stays, etc.

One thing I learned early on is that brands PAY. Do not think because you are starting out that you cannot make an income with brands.

Guest Blog Posting: $300

Writing blog posts for other platforms to get paid. I do not always get paid to write blog posts, but if I am ghost writing, I will charge for the blog post.

Services: $3,846

I have services that I offer to individuals and to business to help them with their online businesses. I offer Social Media Management, FB group management, 1:1 Coaching, Instagram Audits, and Done for you Content Creation.

Total Income for May: $5,084.70

I am so incredibly grateful to talk about all the things I love for a living and help others do incredible things in their lives and their businesses. Even though, blogging been a learning curve I believe that anyone is capable of being successful with telling their story. I am so passionate about creators, bloggers, and influencers getting paid that I create a program to walk you through the steps to take your brand to full-time business. Learn more about The Profitable Creator here.

The online space allows us to connect with people whom we wouldn’t have known otherwise. Creating a blog allows us to connect especially during times when we feel alone. If you are reading this, I want you to know you are capable of creating and managing your little piece of the internet. I also want you to know there will be times you want to give up, but remember this dream was put on your heart for a reason.